Back Again
by Carlafanx
Summary: It’s Carla’s first day back to the street after being sectioned. What kind of reception is she going to get?


As the car parked up beside Roy's Rolls, Peter looked across at his lover.

They've been gone for, what feels like, a lifetime. It was not a holiday though and it for sure didn't feel like one. It was a place of improving Carla's mental state. She viewed everything differently now, she had a new perspective on life.

Peter was petrified to return to the well known cobbles in case it set her back. Back at the psychiatric unit, it was all brand new surroundings where the whole focus was helping Carla but now being back on the street, they are back at the place that kicked everything off. Back at the place where Carla lost grip on reality. Back at the place Carla tried to jump off the Victoria fire escape railings.

He knew she was so much better than when they first left but she was still extremely frail. They all expected that when it was time to leave, she'd be back to her 'old self' and would be so happy to go back to normal. But as he looked to his left, she was gripping the material of her seat tightly, eyes darting around her furiously and he could sense her breaths becoming more shallow by the second.

She was still dosed up on lots of medication, he had to be sure she carried on taking this or she'd go back to her old ways very rapidly. Carla had admitted at the psychiatric unit that she made herself be sick so she didn't digest her pill and it didn't really surprise Peter much.

He still really craved a drink though. They'd been close now for basically 9 years and he'd never seen her like that before. It really tested out not only their strengths but their relationship. Peter told Carla recently about resorting to drinking when she went missing, obviously it upset Carla and made her feel guilty but she understood it. She was willing to help him, just like he was willing to help her.

"Are you okay?" Peter asks, quietly. "I know how tough this is for you."

"Mm-Hmm. Got to face everyone sooner or later." She sighs.

"We could go away for a few days? Before facing the world again."

"The longer I put it off, the harder it'll be."

"Well I'll be here every step of the way." He smiles as she turns her head to look at him.

"Thank you for doing this, Peter. Thank you for everything." She says.

"Don't mention it. What would you of expected me to do?" Peter replies.

"Do what the rest of the family did. But I don't blame them, I get why they gave up with me." She looks down.

"Hey?" He tilts her head up. "They didn't give up on you, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn't know what to do and with Kate grieving, they were stuck in the middle. We all love you."

"How did you know what to do? You knew exactly how to calm me, make me feel safe. I genuinely believe I wouldn't of made it without you, Peter." She mutters, truthfully.

"I didn't know exactly what to do, Carla. Like I said at Carlisle, the temptation of booze overpowered me at one point. The only reason I never left your side was because I would've done absolutely anything to have the real you back. I know you're not the same as you were before but I still love you."

"And I love you. So much."

"And you got through this with your own strength." He moves forward so their foreheads lightly touch.

"How comes you always know the exact right things to say." She whispers.

"It's practise I guess." He says. "You ready to go?"

"Yes..." She takes a deep breath and undoes her seatbelt.

As they couple get out of the car, they look around. No one too familiar was in the street right now. Carla no longer saw everyone staring at her from every angle. Or wondering if any object was videoing her.

"Let's get you inside, ey?" Peter says, getting both of their suitcases out of the boot.

"Wait...there's somewhere I want to go first."

"What? Where?" He frowns, watching her cross the road and make her way over to the factory. "Oh..."

"Carla!" He calls, jogging towards where she's stood.

She stares at the remains of the building she's so familiar too. It looked as if the builders had put a lot of work into making it suitable again and she can't help but feel bad about that...

"I'm okay, I'm okay. Just thinking..." Carla replies.

"Thinking about what?"

"Lots of things really. Mainly how...I don't think I can ever go back there." She admits.

"It's still so raw for you. I'm sure you'll change your mind in time, and they've still got a lot of work to do until it's up and running again."

"Yeah...I have to talk to the workforce at some point actually."

"Please don't rush into anything now. We haven't even got our backs through the door yet. Literally."

"I don't mean right now but soon, they deserve an explanation from me."

"Just think about yourself. You know what happened last time you didn't do that." Peter sighs. "Let's go inside."

The pair walked back over to Roy's and as they opened the door, they were met with the older man she called her father staring back at her.

"Carla..." he murmurs.

"Hi...Roy." She smiles, weakly.

"It's so good to have you back. Welcome home." He walks over to her.

"Thanks." She replies, hesitantly going over to him and hugging him. He embraced her securely, something Roy has never been comfortable with; Affection. But he was overcome with so much joy.

"Let's get you upstairs. Here, let me carry a bag." He takes hold of a bag Peter was originally carrying.

After a visit for Carla's key worker, the trio sit silently in Roy's living room.

"Can I get you a drink or something to eat?" Roy asks, pulling out a chair from the dining room and sitting opposite his beloved friend.

"No, I'm fine ta." She shakes her head. "I just wanted to say...sorry for everything I put you through."

"Carla, there is really no need-..."

"No, please. I treated you so badly, kicked you out of your home, and as for what I said to you about...Hayley..."

"You were ill. I knew that it wasn't the real Carla, you didn't mean any of it." Roy says, profoundly.

"See, don't beat yourself up about it." Peter nudges Carla.

"Thank you. Thanks both of you." Carla smiles. "Right, I'm going to have a nap and you, mister, are going to go to your AA meeting."

"No way...I'm here staying with you." Peter replies.

"I'm going to sleep, baby. There's no point in you moping around so go get help for yourself whilst you've got the chance. Hmm?"

"Okay then...I won't be long." He gives in, kissing Carla on the lips and standing up.

"I'll take care of her." Roy pipes up.

"Cheers, Pal."

Later that day, Carla lay in bed on top of the duvet but she couldn't rest. All she could think about was the fact that she needs to talk to the factory lot and especially Kate. Peter was still at his AA meeting, he wouldn't agree to Carla going to see her sister so soon but Carla knew she couldn't rest without giving her an explanation.

She got out of bed and left the flat, her arms were crossed across her chest as if she was trying to shield herself from the rest of the world. Slowly, she decided to go to visit the factory lot first as they would be leaving work very soon.

Upon entry, the whole room went silent. So silent you could hear a pin drop. Apparently, Sarah had told them the day previous that she was returning so Carla was unsure as to why they looked so shocked. She cleared her throat and mentally battled with herself to look up with confidence.

Eventually Sarah said, "Oh...hi...Carla."

Carla looked up hesitantly, trying her best not to look so nervous.

"Hi." Carla mutters. "I wanted a quick word."

"Oh, here it goes..." Sarah mumbles, ready for Carla to tell her she's taking charge again.

"First of all, thank you Sarah for taking care of this place whilst I've been absent-..."

A snigger interrupts her, Carla turns her head to the sound and finds Beth smirking.

"Erm...I really appreciate it, Sarah. I never realised how good you are at running this place."

"Thank you, Carla. I had no other option, you know? But I've enjoyed it." Sarah nods.

"And also, all of you lot, thank you so much for carrying on with work. I know it must've been difficult with a different environment and with everything else going on-..."

"And not being able to trust our boss..." Beth adds.

"Beth." Sean hisses.

"What? She didn't give a toss about us when that roof was about to collapse onto us. She didn't care that we all could've died. And as for Rana..."

"Beth, will you shut up!" Izzy snaps. "She's been through enough."

"I'm not asking for forgiveness. I know what I did was totally unforgivable. And after everything...I don't think I can go back working here, or even owning underworld again..."

"Good because we don't want you here." Paul pipes up.

"What are you saying, Carla?" Sean narrows his eyes. "Are you selling up?"

"I'm gifting my shares to you lot. You're all going to have a stake in here." Carla announces, sending shockwaves through the room.

Taking a few deep breaths, Carla never imagined how tough that would've been. Even the Rana mention had really set her on edge and she couldn't stop shaking.

She had left the 'factory' now, deciding to discuss all plans another day as she had other places she needed to be.

The group were very astonished by Carla's propersition, no one thought she would've offered that.

Carla has threatened to sell or has sold the factory countless times, but she'd never let each member of the workforce be so included on the deal.

She walked over to the Rovers, stopping at the door and preparing herself. The pub wouldn't be so busy yet, it was only the afternoon so it would only have a few punters in.

However, she was going to finally be met with her father and sister. The two people who terrified her the most during the climax of her psychosis. She knew she couldn't trust them, nor be close to them again but she had to speak to them. She had to.

As soon as she opened the door and stepped inside, she heard an immediate gasp.

"Carla..." Johnny whispers. "Oh, Carla."

She didn't know what to say or do, she even considered walking straight back out but before she knew it, he pulled her into a soft hug.

"Oh, beautiful. I've missed you so much." He cries. "How are ya?"

"I'm...alright." She replies, very quietly.

"You sure?" He checks.

"You don't have to look so scared of me. I'm not going to start screaming any second." She chuckles, slightly.

"I'm not scared at all, love. I was just unsure with the reception I was going to get from you." He shakes his head.

"Mm. How's everything been?"

"Nevermind all that...you look really well."

"Thanks." She nods before asking, "Is...is Kate in?"

"Kate? Yeah, she's in the back room." Johnny says. "Do...do you want to see her?"

"I think I have too." Carla sighs.

"She's not angry at you, by the way. She doesn't understand what's going on, she just wants her sister back I think." Johnny informs her, before walking over to the back room and opening the door.

"Dad?" Kate calls before looking up, "Oh..."

"Kate..." Carla whispers.

"Carla..."

"I'm so sorry. For everything. I'm so sorry, so sorry." She repeats.

"I'm sorry...for the things I said..." Kate shakes her head, tearfully.

"No. No, please don't apologise. I couldn't bare that. This was all my fault. I should've got the roof fixed the second Gary told me something was wrong. If-If I had stopped being so selfish then none of this would've happened. But I've changed...my illness has made me view life so differently, I see it from such a different perspective and I've learnt. I've learnt to cherish the relationships I have and to not, make the same mistakes." Carla explains.

Carla awaits for a reply but after a couple of seconds, Kate runs past her, sobbing.

"Kate!"

Carla follows her into the hallway and turns her around so they're hugging. She strokes the younger girls hair and places her head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Carla carries on repeating.

"I know you are...I'll never forgive you for knowing about the roof but...you're clearly guilty. Everything you've been through has been down to guilt so I'm willing to move on." Kate whimpers.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Carla sobs.

**_I got bored so started writing this ONE-SHOT based on Carla's first day back. I know this isn't the actual timeline of how things happen but I wanted to write it my own way, not the same way that happens in the show but fairly similar. I hope this didn't get confusing because of how many different settings are in one chapter etc but I wanted to get a lot in. This Carla drought feels like it lasted forever so I'm so excited to have her back on our screens next week! It's going to feel so good! Please leave reviews! Xxx _**


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